Readers and radio voices remember Gary Lycan

April 12, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Register radio columnist Gary Lycan died Tuesday at age 68. NICK KOON, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Radio personality "Uncle Joe" Benson, shown at Pacific Amphitheatre last year, said the late radio columnist Gary Lycan was "the greatest – always encouraging and fair in his analysis. And his love for animals was unmatched." CHRISTINE COTTER, FOR THE REGISTER

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In her farewell to Gary Lycan, radio personality and pet advocate Tammy Trujillo said, "I am so glad to have been able to call you a friend for all these years! You were always there to celebrate the new jobs and lament about the lost ones! More importantly was the love you had for animals and all you did to for them."

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KFI host Tim Conway Jr. said of Gary Lycan: "If it wasn't for Gary always including me in his pieces, I would not be working on KFI today. He was the best friend radio could have ever asked for.” ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Radio host Tom Leykis says of Gary Lycan: “I will miss his column and his passion for radio. But what I was already missing, for the years he hasn't been well, were our frequent chats in the morning hours about radio news and gossip."

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Radio personality and author Manny Pacheco says that columnist Gary Lycan "kept the golden age of format radio alive through his radio columns. And we all owe him a debt of gratitude for that." COURTESY OF LAURIE PACHECO

Register radio columnist Gary Lycan died Tuesday at age 68. NICK KOON, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Like many in the business, Manny Pacheco met the late Orange County Register radio columnist Gary Lycan soon after Pacheco landed his job in Southern California radio. For years that's how it worked: You got hired at a Los Angeles or Orange County radio station and Lycan would give you call to find out a little about your past, your plans for the new gig, and by doing so introduce you to his readers.

"We've known each other the entire duration of my career," Pacheco said Wednesday, an hour or so after learning that Lycan, 68, had died a day earlier after a long battle with prostate cancer. "My very first year at KRLA he interviewed me. He wrote just a very kind interview for a first-year radio jockey. It was a wonderful thing to do."

That was around 1981, Pacheco said. Years later, their friendship deepened when Lycan wrote the forward to Pacheco's first book on "Forgotten Hollywood," and then the introduction to the sequel. And when Pacheco launched a Forgotten Hollywood radio show on KSPA-1510/AM, Lycan was happy to help there too, contributing segments called "On the Backlot."

At 3 p.m. Saturday, Pacheco said he will replay an interview he did with Lycan for the show a few years ago, paying tribute to his old friend and a man who knew more about Southern California radio than just about anybody else around.

"In truth, he was what I consider the entire fabric of Southern California in that everybody in the radio industry owes some sort of thanks to Gary," said Pacheco, who lives in Cypress. "He has kept the golden age of format radio alive through his radio columns. And we all owe him a debt of gratitude for that."

As news of Lycan's passing spread this week, those who knew him, whether in person or for the radio column he wrote for 45 years or the pet advocacy work he did for nearly as long, said farewell – and thanks – for a life well lived.

Here are a few of their voices, many of them drawn from posts on Lycan's Facebook page.

"Gary was an animal advocate, a radio enthusiast, a movie buff, and a true friend. I will miss him and his cheery-to-the-very-end personality. The world has lost a very special person." – Marie Hulett, with whom Lycan worked for years on "The Pet Place" television show on KDOC-TV

"It would be easy to take all the credit for whatever I've achieved in my own career, but it would be disingenuous at best. When I first came to town 25 years ago to begin what would become a long radio career in Southern California and I couldn't get arrested, Gary Lycan took an interest in what I was trying to do and his frequent pieces about me in the Orange County Register were instrumental in my early success in Southern California radio.

"I will miss his column and his passion for radio. But what I was already missing, for the years he hasn't been well, were our frequent chats in the morning hours about radio news and gossip. If I had a scoop, it was Gary to whom I went first. Many times I didn't feel so good about where radio was heading. But all it took was a simple phone call to Gary and, in no time, his voice and enthusiasm reminded me of what it was all about. He loved listening. He loved knowing the people he listened to. All of them." – Tom Leykis, longtime Southern California radio host

"Thank you for all that you did for radio and for animals. Thanks for being you." – Rita Wilde, currently at The Sound/100.3 FM, and for many years before that at KLOS/95.5 FM

"If it wasn't for Gary always including me in his pieces, I would not be working on KFI today. He was the best friend radio could have ever asked for." – Tim Conway, Jr., host on KFI/640 AM

"I am only a few years younger than he was so I have a deep love of the radio and always loved his column. He let me know what all of the DJs that I grew up listening to were doing. It is with great sadness that we must say goodbye to Gary. A few weeks ago his column was not in the paper and I was really worried. I did not know that he was ill. I was ready to write the paper and ask for Gary to come back.

"I am so glad I did write to him months back about the Mark and Brian show ending. I did let him know how much I love him and his column. Thank goodness that happened. I would have felt bad not letting him know how I felt about him as a person and how his column was a highlight of my paper reading and that he kept the connection going for me and that meant a lot." – Lynn Smith, Capistrano Beach

"Gary was the greatest – always encouraging and fair in his analysis. And his love for animals was unmatched. Miss you, buddy." – "Uncle Joe" Benson, longtime Los Angeles DJ, currently at The Sound/100.3 FM

"Gary, I am so glad to have been able to call you a friend for all these years! You were always there to celebrate the new jobs and lament about the lost ones! More importantly was the love you had for animals and all you did to for them. I know your sweet little white poodle is waiting on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge and will be so glad to see you!" – Tammy Trujillo, longtime Southern California radio personality and broadcasting instructor

"So sad to hear the news of our loss of Gary Lycan. He was a real friend to radio, and to those of us who work in it." – Nicole Sandler, longtime radio DJ and music director

"More than being a great writer and cheerleader for our business, he was a terrific guy with whom I always enjoyed speaking. I really thought he was going to beat it, and I am so sad that he was taken from us." – Bob Buchmann, currently at KGB/101.5 FM, previously at KLOS/95.5 FM

"Gary Lycan, thanks for the ink! RIP. Radio heaven now has their head writer!" – Brandon J. Castillo, producer on the morning show at K-EARTH/101.1 FM

"Thanks for putting radio into print. You were our radio-to-newspaper herald. Now get some rest." – Joe Reiling, longtime DJ at stations including KLOS/95.5 FM and KMET/94.7 FM

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